INDUSTRIES / APPAREL
Apparel & Accessories
Fulfillment
Apparel is a high SKU, high return, spiky demand category, which is close to the worst case for a warehouse built around fast movers. Size and color level picking, returns that get properly refurbished, and retail routing guides met without chargebacks.
GET A QUOTE
Get Your Quote
Tell us your active SKU count, return rate and channel mix and we'll come back with itemized pricing.
THE SHAPE OF THE PROBLEM
Thousands of SKUs, Modest Volume
Most ecommerce categories are a few products selling a lot. Apparel is thousands of variants selling a little, where the same garment exists 42 times and 41 of them are the wrong pick.
Then a fifth to two fifths of it comes back. A warehouse that treats returns as inbound receiving rather than as refurbishment will slowly degrade the quality of everything you own.
Size + Color
BIN-LEVEL PICKING
Inspect & Refurb
RETURNS PROCESSING
GOH or Flat
STORAGE OPTIONS
10 Min
FROM PORT HOUSTON
WHAT APPAREL NEEDS
Built for Variants and Returns
Two things decide whether apparel fulfillment works: whether the right variant gets picked, and what happens to the ones that come back.
FIG 01
SIZE & COLOR LEVEL PICKING
One style in six colors and seven sizes is 42 pickable SKUs. Apparel runs thousands of active SKUs against modest order volume, the opposite shape of most categories. We bin at size and color level with scan verification, not at style level.
FIG 02
RETURNS THAT GET PROCESSED
Return rates of 20 to 40 percent are normal here and a returned garment is not automatically sellable. Inspect, resteam, re-polybag, re-tag, then restock as A grade, downgrade or quarantine. Receiving a return is not the same as processing it.
FIG 03
GOH OR FLAT PACK
Structured pieces and outerwear hang. Knits, tees and denim fold, store denser and ship in smaller cartons, which directly lowers dimensional weight. We price both so the decision is made on the garment, not on convenience.
WHY ASFAR
Returns Are Half the Job
In most categories returns are an exception to handle. In apparel they are a second, permanent inbound operation running at up to 40 percent of everything you shipped, and it deserves a real process.
Middle Sizes Slotted Forward
Volume concentrates in the middle of the size curve, so that is where the pick path is short.
Refurb, Not Just Receipt
Steaming, re-bagging and re-tagging so restocked units are actually A grade.
One Pool, Every Channel
D2C, wholesale and marketplace orders picked from the same inventory.
Drop-Ready Put Away
Collections live on the shelf before the launch, not during it.
Got a drop coming?
Send us the launch date and the collection size. Getting it received and slotted before go-live is the difference between shipping in a day and shipping in nine.
PROGRAMS
Drops, Wholesale and Imports
The three operations apparel brands need beyond picking a box.
FIG 04
SEASONAL DROPS & PRE-ORDERS
A drop puts a season of orders into a few hours. Collections are received and put away before launch so they are pickable at go-live, and pre-orders stage as a held wave that releases together instead of trickling out over a week.
FIG 05
WHOLESALE & RETAIL ROUTING
Carton labels to the retailer's spec, UPC and GS1 application, packing list placement, carton counts and pallet configuration built to the routing guide. Wholesale fails on paperwork far more often than on product, and chargebacks follow.
FIG 06
FLOOR-LOADED CONTAINERS
Most apparel arrives hand stacked to the ceiling with no pallets. Devanned 10 minutes from Port Houston with verified carton counts and photographed damage, then palletized and put away without an inland freight leg.
FAQ
Apparel Fulfillment, Answered
Q01
How do you handle apparel size and color SKU counts?
One style in six colors and seven sizes is 42 pickable SKUs before you add a second style. Apparel brands run thousands of active SKUs against modest order volume, the opposite shape of most ecommerce categories, and it breaks warehouses set up for a few fast movers. We bin at size and color level with scan verification at the pick, and slot the middle of the size curve closest to packing because that is where the volume concentrates.
Q02
Can you process apparel returns, not just receive them?
Yes, and this is where apparel 3PL relationships succeed or fail. Return rates of 20 to 40 percent are normal and a returned garment is not automatically sellable inventory. We inspect condition, resteam or press, replace the polybag and hangtag, then restock as A grade, downgrade or quarantine for your review. A provider that receives returns and marks them straight back into stock is quietly selling your customers worn product.
Q03
Do you offer garment on hanger storage or flat pack?
Both, and the right answer depends on the garment. Structured pieces, outerwear and anything that creases badly are better hanging. Knits, tees, denim and basics fold, store far denser and ship in smaller cartons, which matters because dimensional weight follows box size. Tell us the mix and we will price it both ways rather than defaulting everything to one method.
Q04
Can you meet retail routing guide and UPC requirements?
Yes. Wholesale and big box orders fail on paperwork and labeling far more often than on product. Carton labels to the retailer's specification, UPC and GS1 barcode application, packing list placement, carton counts and pallet configuration all have to match the routing guide or you get charged back. We run retail and wholesale outbound alongside D2C from one inventory pool.
Q05
How do you handle seasonal drops and pre-orders?
Apparel volume arrives in walls. A drop can put a season of orders into a few hours. We receive and put away the collection before the launch date so it is pickable the moment it goes live, and stage pre-orders as a held wave that releases together. The failure mode is a drop selling out in an hour and then taking nine days to ship.
Q06
Do you receive floor loaded containers from overseas?
Yes, and most apparel arrives that way: cartons hand stacked to the ceiling with no pallets, the cheapest way to fill a container and the most labor intensive way to empty one. We are 10 minutes from Port Houston, so the container is devanned, carton counts verified, damage photographed, then palletized and put away without a second facility or an inland freight leg.